Covid-19 Misinformation Flows Challenges and Options for Reconstructing and Disseminating Mediated Messages

Introduction: The Sociology of Communicating Pandemics and the Objective of this Book

Part I: Misconceptions Communicated about COVID-19

1. Challenges and Wins in Communicating Pandemics Globally: A Look Back at COVID-19

2. Newspapers Coverage of Conspiracy Theories of Health Pandemics in Nigeria:  A Case Study of COVID-19

3. Infodemic and Misinformation on YouTube about COVID-19

4. How Community Radio Stations Led Proper Communication and Addressed Miscommunication of COVID‑19 Issues in South Africa

Part II: Experiences in Communicating Pandemics in Central Africa and Asia

5. Newspaper Reportage of COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh and Nigeria

6. Communicating and Managing COVID‑19 for Sustainable Health in a Multi-Cultural Nation-Nigeria

7. Journalistic Challenges in Covering COVID‑19 News Stories in Bangladesh

8. Newspaper as National Propaganda Tool: How the People's Daily Overseas Newspaper Communicated China's Image during the COVID‑19 Pandemic

9. User Engagement of Bangladesh Government Agencies and Nonprofit Organizations’ Sharing of COVID-19 Information on Facebook

10. Analysis of Migrant Workers' Demise and Media Failures during the Pandemic

Part III: Social Media Use and Misinformation on Health Issues in the Middle East

11. News and Misinformation in Social Media in the United Arab Emirates during the COVID‑19 Pandemic

12. Information, Anxiety, and Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) during COVID‑19

Part IV: Media Shenanigans, Disinformation, and Actions for Communicating Pandemics for Constructive Change

13. Using Latin American Legislation and Inter-American Standards to Combat Disinformation on Health Issues

14. Reconstructing News to Consume Constructive Messages about COVID: How Administrative Techniques could Redirect Minority Populations Toward Sustainable Information Management

Conclusions: Charting Futures for Mediated Messaging on Epidemics

Index

Biography

Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, UNESCO fellow and Senior International Corporate Communication Adviser.

"Based on cases from different countries in the global south, this book offers an original and rigorous look at the communicative aspects of Covid-19 around the world."

-- Dr. José Luis Estrada Rodríguez, Professor and Researcher, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico, North America

 

"We read about fake news and misinformation in our daily news diets, especially regarding Covid-19. However, health communication specialists seldom encounter a comprehensive volume addressing  related, additional challenges: a systematic scholarly examination of the precise nature of pandemic miscommunication; and a focus for that examination on the experiences of the Global South.  Those extra endeavors are invaluable and long overdue. Congratulations to editor Emmanuel Ngwainmbi for summoning the focus and energy required to assemble this collection of ambitious, talented scholars explaining pandemic misinformation patterns and their effects from the perspective of the Global South."

-- John C. Pollock, Professor of Communication Studies and Public Health, Depts. of Communication, Journalism, and Film; and Public Health & Director, Health Communication and Social Justice Lab, College of New Jersey, North America

 

"This book covers many specific cases of policy driven responses, as well as cases of disruptive attempts by private actors. Providing a wide diversity of perspectives, it allows for a better understanding of the failings and successes of nation states and its citizens during an event that may not be common but takes specific shapes in many countries of the Global South. Thus, it provides a way to learn how not to fail when any society faces similar situations in the coming years." 

-- Dr. Eduardo Villanueva-Mansilla, Dean of the School of Communications Arts and Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. South America 

"In this provocative communication and media book, Sociopolitical Outcomes of Communicating Health Issues Globally, Emmanuel Ngwainmbi has produced a book that deserves accolades because of the convergence of outstanding scholars writing about significant themes in health and communication. The book has a freshness, dynamism, and futuristic orientation that makes it suitable for numerous classes in sociology and communication."

 -- Molefi Kete Asante, American Philosopher, Professor, Department of Africology, Temple University, North America 

"The Covid-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on the global South. The accurate and credible messaging of the biggest health emergency for a century was a particularly serious challenge in the developing world. This collection of essays provides the much-needed analysis of this complex communication scenario." 

-- Daya Thussu, Professor of International Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, Asia President, International Association for Media and Communication Research